Julie McKenna
From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 11 min
Julie McKenna is a member of the Racine Unified School District school board in Wisconsin, representing District 4. She assumed office in 1998. Her current term ends in 2021.
McKenna ran for re-election to the Racine Unified School District school board to represent District 4 in Wisconsin. She won in the general election on April 3, 2018.
This office is outside of Ballotpedia's coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates. Our scope includes all elected federal and state officeholders as well as comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population.
Biography[edit]
McKenna graduated from Lincoln Senior High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 1980. She later earned a B.S. in music education from Augustana University and associate degree in respiratory from Dakota State University.[1] McKenna has worked as a respiratory care practitioner. She and her husband, Colin, have one child who attended schools in Racine Unified School District.[2]
Elections[edit]
2018[edit]
Three of the nine seats on the Racine Unified School District Board of Education in Wisconsin were up for by-district general election on April 3, 2018. District 5 incumbent Steven Hooper did not file for re-election, leaving the seat open. Jane Barbian was the only candidate to file for the District 5 seat and ran unopposed. District 4 incumbent Julie McKenna and District 6 incumbent John Heckenlively filed for re-election and were unopposed in their bids for re-election.[3]
General election for Racine Unified School District school board District 4
Incumbent Julie McKenna won election in the general election for Racine Unified School District school board District 4 on April 3, 2018.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Julie McKenna (Nonpartisan) |
99.6
|
1,515 |
| Other/Write-in votes |
0.4
|
6 | ||
|
Total votes: 1,521 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
2016[edit]
The 2016 election for all nine seats on the Racine Unified School District was the district's first using a by district system rather than electing members at-large. A primary election was held on February 16, 2016, for Districts 6 and 7 with the general election on April 5, 2016. Board candidates were required to live in their election districts. The change was enshrined in state law through legislation sponsored by State Sen. Van Wanggaard (R) and State Rep. Tom Weatherson (R), who represent districts that include Racine. The election districts approved by the school board on October 27, 2015, led to three races in 2016 where three incumbents were assured defeat because they faced fellow board members.[4][5]
Candidates backed by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO won seven of the board's nine seats in 2016. Michelle Duchow in District 1 was not endorsed due to her unopposed race and District 9 winner Robert Wittke was endorsed by The Journal Times as a candidate who would stand up to unions.
District 1 candidate Michelle Duchow was the only unopposed candidate in the race. Dennis Wiser defeated fellow incumbent John Koetz in District 2, while incumbent Michael Frontier ousted fellow board member Pamala Handrow in District 3. Julie McKenna defeated Kim Plache to take the District 4 seat. Challenger Steven Hooper defeated incumbent Chuck Goodremote for the District 5 seat. Newcomer Matthew Hanser narrowly defeated board president Melvin Hargrove in District 8. Incumbent Don Nielsen finished first in the District 7 race against challenger Brian O'Connell. Nielsen and O'Connell defeated Adrienne Moore in the primary. Three newcomers were guaranteed to join the board after this election with no incumbents running in Districts 1, 6 and 9. John Heckenlively defeated Jim Venturini for the District 6 seat, while Robert Wittke defeated Kurt Squire in District 9.[5] Ernest Ni'A was defeated by Heckenlively and Venturini in the District 6 primary. Bryn Biemeck was removed from the ballot in District 6 following a Wisconsin Government Accountability Board appeal by the Racine Education Association.[6]
Results[edit]
| Racine Unified School District, District 4 Special Election, 2-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Julie McKenna Incumbent |
51.13% | 2,293 |
| Kim Plache Incumbent | 48.87% | 2,192 |
| Total Votes | 4,485 | |
| Source: Racine Unified School District, "Racine Board of Education Official Election Results," accessed June 15, 2016 | ||
Endorsements[edit]
McKenna received the endorsement of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.[7]
2013[edit]
| Racine Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2013 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Frontier |
20.9% | 9,318 | |
| Nonpartisan | Julie McKenna |
20.3% | 9,038 | |
| Nonpartisan | Chris Eperjesy |
18.9% | 8,431 | |
| Nonpartisan | Robert Wittke, Jr. | 15.3% | 6,825 | |
| Nonpartisan | Roger Pfost | 12.6% | 5,620 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kristie Formolo | 11.8% | 5,239 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.2% | 81 | |
| Total Votes | 44,552 | |||
| Source: Racine County Clerk, "Official April 2, 2013 Election Results," accessed February 6, 2014 | ||||
2010[edit]
| Racine Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2010 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Susan F. Kutz |
28.5% | 8,899 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bill Van Atta |
28.3% | 8,835 | |
| Nonpartisan | Julie McKenna |
27% | 8,429 | |
| Nonpartisan | Fran Eulingbourgh | 15.7% | 4,902 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in candidate | 0.3% | 108 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in candidate | 0% | 10 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in candidate | 0% | 4 | |
| Total Votes | 31,187 | |||
| Source: Racine County Clerk, "Official April 2010 Election Results," accessed September 23, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes[edit]
2016[edit]
Ballotpedia survey responses[edit]
Julie McKenna participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on February 15, 2016:
| “ | Guaranteeing Student Achievement, students must succeed![8][9] | ” |
Ranking the issues[edit]
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Wisconsin. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Blank | |
| “ | Students first must focus on quality education first , Racine Unified is slowly closing gap more work needs to be done, relationships are important with teachers to provide best instruction[9] | ” |
| —Julie L McKenna (February 15, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues[edit]
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| Yes. This question required me to answer RUSD has two charters I think each one should be evaluated on its own merits |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. Communication is key the board is close to the issues at hand. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. I had to chose one answer my answer is both yes and no,It can be but not if it is changed every two years. State government is constantly changing it. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| There is pros and cons if focus on higher level of thinking how to apply what you learn, all levels of academic need to be accessed |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. The teacher needs a chance to improve some improve with mentoring others more training or both |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. I would need more information on the plan I believe teachers should be compensated for good work and career advancement including experience |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Only if they have to follow the same expectations and rules and regulations as public schools |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| As last result , it's hoped that needs of the student would be met to succeed |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Teacher is the most important for success for student achievement ,teacher need access to resources and best practice to do their job |
Additional themes[edit]
McKenna answered the following questions from The Journal Times:
| “ |
1) Last year, the School Board was divided for months on the district’s employee handbook. What role should administrators, unions and the board have in future handbook changes? (The School Board's) role is to approve the handbook per the state statute. I would like to see the current committee to change to add non-union staff and others as appropriate to meet and confer with the meetings to be posted to align with the statue with the purpose to review handbook and recommend changes to the School Board for approval. 2) The district recently entered into a tentative agreement to buy the Sturtevant Sportsplex for $5.2 million, and the district is studying how to use and pay for the complex before the board’s May 10 deadline to approve the deal. If you are elected, under what conditions would you support the district buying the Sportsplex? I would need to study the feasibility study which would answer questions as to whether the agreement to buy is a good fit for Racine Unified School District and the community. There are many factors in making that decision, finances, building, land and usage or programming, what will Racine Unified School District gain for the students, what would be lost if not purchased. 3) As the district implements block scheduling in high schools next year in preparation for new career academies, some have criticized the district for moving ahead on the change too fast, most notably employee unions. Should the district go ahead with block scheduling next year? Why or why not? The board did not vote on the decision. With that said, I see why block scheduling would work for the academies; it gives more time for students to have experiences or exposures to careers or vocations. Some students will do well with block scheduling, some will not. It should not be the only option, or there should be options for the students that don't do well with the block scheduling. My preference if given the choice would (be) to start it off with the freshmen next year and the following years to phase it in with that class. My understanding (is) the curriculum for the academies will not start until the following year. I am not sure what the sophomores and juniors and seniors for school year 2016 will benefit from it; for them it will be the same curriculum they are receiving now. 4) Over the last year, the villages of Caledonia, Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant have been weighing whether to fund a study of leaving the Racine Unified School District. Would you support these communities breaking away from Unified? Why or why not? I personally would like to see the villages of Caledonia, Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant stay with Racine Unified School District. A bigger school district can offer more opportunities or choices than a smaller district. I do not live in those villages, I live in the City of Racine. I will respect the process of making that decision and hope the villages will want to stay with Racine Unified School District. 5) If elected, what is the most pressing change you would push for the district to make? |
” |
| —Julie McKenna (2016), [10] | ||
Board membership[edit]
2014[edit]
The Racine Unified Board of Education voted unanimously on 97.3 percent of its votes between January 1, 2014, and July 1, 2014. Every vote recorded by the board passed.
The voting data indicates that there was no clear governing majority or minority faction on the board. No individual board member's voting record differed significantly from that of the other board members.[11]
See also[edit]
- Racine Unified School District, Wisconsin
- Racine Unified School District elections (2018)
- Racine Unified School District elections (2016)
- Racine Unified School District elections (2015)
- Racine Unified School District elections (2014)
External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ Nick Katers, "Email exchange with Julie McKenna," February 15, 2016]
- ↑ Turn Up the Vote, "Julie McKenna," accessed September 24, 2014
- ↑ The Journal Times, "2018 local and school candidate filings," January 2, 2018
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednewmap - ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Journal Times, "Election filings, Racine County school boards," January 6, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbiemeck - ↑ Wisconsin AFL-CIO, "2016 Spring Election Candidate Endorsements," March 10, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Julie McKenna's responses," February 15, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Journal Times, "Julie McKenna on the issues," March 15, 2016
- ↑ Racine Unified School District, "Board of Education Meetings," accessed August 28, 2014
| Racine Unified School District elections in 2018 | |
| Racine County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 3, 2018 |
| Candidates: | District 4: Incumbent, Julie McKenna District 5: Jane Barbian District 6: Incumbent, John Heckenlively |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
EncycloReader
is supported by the 
KSF